Group Sox . . . and lotsa links
<- My first pair of Magic Loop socks - the baby socks pattern from the Magic Loop booklet. Toe up!
So it looks like we'll be launching into something brand new on October 1st: a sock knitalong. All experience levels welcome!
I have no idea how to run a knitalog so if you have some tips to share, I hope you'll leave them in the comments section. Don't be shy! I know that knitalongs usually share space with a Yahoo! Groups mailing list and I'll admit I'm kind of on the fence about that. Couldn't we do all of our chatting in the comments section? Or is there a reason why that's just plain not a great idea?
We're thinking of starting the Group Sox Knitalong on October 1st. Now that doesn't mean you have to have needles poised and project cast on and ready on October 1st. That's when we'll start knitting and posting. Feel free to join in whenever you like. And, best of all, there's no end date. At least not one that I know about. We're at all different skill levels here. We knit at different speeds, have varying amounts of time we can devote to a project. Believe me, whether you're fast or slow or somewhere in between, you'll fit in just fine.
I thought I'd give you something to think about on this cold and rainy (how I love it!) holiday weekend by pointing you toward some terrific socky websites.
First and foremost, THE Wendy of Wendy Knits has some fabulous free patterns and probably the best full-color tutorial ever on casting on and knitting toe-up socks. I highly recommend this as your first stop.
One of the links on Wendy's site will take you over to Knitty. Stay awhile. Poke around. Lots of free sock patterns and lots of great technical information.
And while you're there, check out Rob's Broad Ripples made with Cascade Fixation. (Especially important for those of us with wool problems.) I have to ask myself why, since I bothered to take a photo of the socks and to pose a ridiculous curly-headed doll from the checkout line at Shoprite, didn't I also bother to SMOOTH OUT THE DAMN SOCKS! They were perfect. Honestly. And I rarely can say that about something from my needles but these honestly were. Damn!
They looked better in progress. And I'd love to show them to you but Blogger won't let me upload any more photos right now. I'll try again later.
And we have more:
Baby Fixation Socks
Basic Tube Socks
Fuzzy Feet (gigantic [and I mean GIGANTIC] socks felted down to perfection)
Basic Socks
Linda's Sock Formula 3
Mary's Socks
Newborn Tube Socks
Sock Knitting Tips
Socks 101
That should give us something to talk about!
Barbara
posted by Barbara Bretton at 1:51 PM
7 Comments:
No more Yahoo lists ... please! Let's just ask and answer questions in the comments section. That way, we all might learn something. Besides, I like reading what other people have to say.
Maybe we can establish a cut-off date, say, one month from our start date. October 1 - November 1?
Fran, who'll be making her first pair of socks starting October 1
I'm not big on Yahoo! lists either, Fran, but I do see why knitalongs use them: it's a way for participants to share photos and to do lots of talking w/o the self-consciousness of comments.
Cut off date for what? To join us or to finish a sock?
And I know we'll need a contest attached to this. I hope to come up with something by the beginning of next week or so.
Cut-off date to finish the socks, Barbara. Start October 1 and finish November 1. Or October 31. Or New Year's Eve 2007.
I've never done a knitalong before, so I bow to your expertise on that.
Have dpns and yarn. Need pattern - and the nerve!
You know what socks I really liked? The ones that Teresa posted in one of our earlier posts. They were a gorgeous argyle sock. I'm nowhere near ready to do anything that requires more than one color at this point, but that's the style I like the best of all that I've seen thus far.
::sigh:: I know. I'm booorrring!
Jamie, do you mean the yellow argyles I posted in our first week or so? If argyles appeal, check out Moth Heaven at http://scrubberbum.typepad.com . Wonderful piratical argyles (bet you didn't know such a thing existed) and hot pink/orange argyles plus charts, hints, etc.
Perfect timing! I just purchased my first skein of "sock yarn" and the "toe up" sock book! I've never knit socks before, so I'll be the one crying for help, every other minute...
No yahoo lists! Make a second blogspot blog for the KAL or a flickr group just for the photos and discussion just on the blog (like have a weekly "KAL" post where all the comments will be about socks) and then photos on the flickr page. If you have not used flickr, I highly recomend it (my photos are at www.flickr.com/photos/wavybrains ). The mason dixon group and other KAL use flickr. Many KAL use blogspot for their discussions. Will there be prizes for the KAL?
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